Using my points to stay at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells was probably the best hotel deal decision I have ever made. Around the same time last year, I got an email saying that Coachella would be coming back and presales were going to happen soon. So, in my mind, I rushed over to Hyatt’s website to see if there were any hotels that I could book on points. I knew that the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells was relatively close to the venue so I checked there first.

 

The hotel already sold out of point redemption rooms for Coachella Weekend One but I could still book Coachella Weekend Two! So, I hurried on over to my Chase account and transferred 60,000 Chase points to my Hyatt account. The transfer process happened immediately and I was able to book three nights (Fri-Mon) all on points. That meant my whole Coachella stay was going to be completely free!

 

Hyatt Regency Indian Wells – Review

Cost

As mentioned above, I paid for this whole hotel using my Chase points which I transferred to Hyatt. One of the things I love about Chase is that most of their points transfer immediately to their travel partners so there are no delays when trying to book a busy weekend like Coachella. So, for 60,000 points, it got me a free 3-night stay which saved me at least $4,000 for that weekend! Room rates were going for at least $1,000/night at the Hyatt Regency.

It’s a good thing for me to point out that I booked this last year before Hyatt started their off-peak/peak pricing. The Hyatt Regency Indian Wells is a Category 5 hotel so each night only costs 20,000 points back then. Now that there is off-peak and peak pricing, each night can range anywhere from 17,000 points to 23,000 points. You can be almost certain that a festival weekend will cost you 23,000 points per night. Other than those big weekends, it seems that the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells has a lot of dates available that are below the usual 20,000-point redemption.

 

Location

If you are driving, the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells is located about two hours from Los Angeles or 30 minutes from Palm Springs. If you are staying for Coachella, it’s only about a 15-20 minute drive to the Empire Polo Fields. With that being said, on the days of the concert, we’ve sat in three hours of traffic to get to the polo fields so make sure you plan accordingly.

 

Room

We originally booked a room with two queen beds since I was planning on going to Coachella with some of my friends. Since I have Globalist status with Hyatt, I was hoping for a room upgrade which we did get in the end, but I’ll explain that more down below. If we are just talking about the overall aesthetic of the rooms, I would say it tends to lean towards the older side of things. It definitely gives me your typical timeshare vibes if you know what I mean. But hey, a free room for Coachella weekend, I’ll take it!

 

Food

We didn’t really get to try all the food at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells since most of our time was spent at the festival. The only thing we did try was the breakfast buffet which I’ll discuss more down below.

 

Pool

The pool at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells was the thing I was most excited about. From what I’ve seen in the pictures, it has this huge pool area with different pools, jacuzzis, and slides. The lazy pool was great and there were free tubes for you to float around in. For the partiers, there is an adult section in the back area where a DJ spins some fun music. Not sure if that was just because it was Coachella weekend or if it happens every weekend. The rest of the pool areas are pretty chill and there is a huge portion just for sunbathing.

 

Service

I can confidently say that the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells had some of the best customer service I’ve ever experienced. Not sure if it’s because I have status, but I felt like I was really taken care of during my stay which is impressive for a busy weekend. A week before our stay, I got an email from the hotel welcoming me to the property and explaining all of my Globalist benefits to me. I thought this was really great since everything was written out and it got me excited about visiting.

The hotel texted me on my cell a couple of days later saying that I could use this number to communicate with the front desk directly if I ever needed anything. They also texted me every morning to check up on how I was doing. Through the text, I can request anything like wine glasses, additional towels, more coffee cups, etc. I like this method a lot since there’s a record of me requesting items. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve called the front desk for something and it never comes. I really hope every Hyatt starts implementing this texting system everywhere!

 

Hyatt Regency Indian Wells – Globalist Benefits

Room Upgrade

Since it was an extremely busy weekend, I wasn’t expecting the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells to have any upgrades available even though I really really hoping for one. Well, late Thursday night (we were leaving Friday morning), I checked my Hyatt app and noticed that I was automatically upgraded to a Penthouse Suite! I was so excited so I started looking up details of the room. I noticed that right above the Penthouse Suite, there was a Champions Suite that was still available. Even though the Penthouse Suite seemed more updated and was more expensive, I was curious about the Champions Suite because it had two full baths which are great for group trips.

So, the next morning, I texted the hotel to see if I can switch from the Penthouse Suite to the Champions Suite. Within a few minutes, the hotel was able to change my room and confirm it through the Hyatt app. I was pleasantly surprised by the fast customer service and even more happy it was all done through text! I didn’t have to wait on the phone or have to deal with it during check-in.

The room ended up being amazing! For three of us, we got to sprawl out in a 1,100 sq ft room, with two full baths, a separate bedroom, living room, kitchen area, dining area, and two balconies. Even though the furnishings seemed a bit old, it was still great for our little vacation. For anyone that’s wondering, the kitchen area has a full-size fridge, microwave, and coffee maker. No stovetop.

 

Free Breakfast

The breakfast benefit was at the buffet downstairs by the lobby. The buffet costs $27 normally but Globalists get this for free. Another great thing about the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells is that they let me know ahead of time that I can get up to four people (including myself) in for free breakfast. Usually, it’s only me and one other guest so I thought this was very generous of them. It worked out well for my group since there were three of us.

 

Parking

Since we booked on points, we got complimentary parking. You can either park in the self-parking lot or the valet. We chose the self-parking since it was closer to our room and it was just faster to get in and out.

 

Waived Resort Fees

For Globalists, you get waived resort fees.

 

Bottled Water

I don’t remember if they gave us free bottles of water or not, but I didn’t really care since we brought a pack of our own water for the room.

 

Priority Access to Room (aka Early Check-In)

The Hyatt app let me know that our room was ready for early check-in. We ended up not using this benefit though because we wanted to stop by the Gucci Outlet along the way and spent most of our morning there.

 

Late Check-Out

I wished we had time to utilize this benefit! I definitely wanted more pool and relaxation time, but we got the exact opposite. My friend had to leave early Monday morning for a flight so we had to practically pack up and leave Sunday night right after Coachella. We probably left around 3:00 a.m. and got back to Los Angeles around 5:30 a.m. This was absolutely PAINFUL since I had to go straight to work. I will never do this again and don’t recommend anyone else do it either lol!

 

Conclusion

The Hyatt Regency Indian Wells was such a great place to stay especially for Coachella weekend. It’s super close to the venue and there’s an abundance of things for you to do at the hotel. Unfortunately, we did not have time to check out the spa or the golf course, but if we ever come back, I’m definitely going to spend more time at the hotel. If Coachella is not your thing, the hotel, in general, is a great place to relax and get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The hotel practically has something for everyone whether you are with family, friends, or co-workers. I highly recommend this hotel!

 

Pictures